King Kong (1933)
King Kong is a 1933 American black-and-white monster adventure film directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack. The film was produced and distributed by RKO Pictures. Released on April 7, 1933, it has been remade twice, in 1976 and 2005, while a reboot titled Kong: Skull Island was released on March 10, 2017. Plot In New York harbor, a filmmaker named Carl Denham, who is famous for making wildlife films in remote and exotic locations, charters Captain Englehorn's ship Venture for his new project, but is unable to secure an actress for a female role he has reluctantly added to the script. Due to set sail that night, Denham searches the streets of New York for a suitable woman. He meets a young blonde woman named Ann Darrow and convinces her ton join him for what he proposes as an adventure of a lifetime. The Venture quickly gets underway and, during the voyage, the surly first mate, Jack Driscoll, falls in love with Ann. After weeks of secrecy, Denham finally tells Englehorn and Jack that their destination is Skull Island, an uncharted island shown on a map in Denham's possession. Denham also cryptically alludes to some monstrous creature rumored to dwell on the island, a legendary entity known as "Kong". When they find the island and anchor offshore, they see a native village, seperated from the rest of the island by an ancient stone wall. A landing party, including the filming crew and Ann, witnesses a group of natives preparing to sacrifice Ann as the "bride of Kong". The intruders are spotted and the native chief angrily stops the ceremony. When he sees Ann, he offers to trade six of his tribal women for the "golden woman". They rebuff him and return to the Venture. That night, a band of natives kidnap Ann from the ship and lead her through a huge wooden gate in the wall. Tied to an altar, she is offered to Kong, who turns out to be a giant gorilla. Kong carries her off into the jungle as the Venture crew, alerted to Ann's abduction, arrive. They open the gate and Denham, Jack and some volunteers enter the jungle in hopes of rescuing Ann. When they are charged by a Stegosaurus, wich they manage to kill, they soon discover that Kong is far from the only giant prehistoric creature on the island. After a construction raft in order to cross a swamp, a Brontosaurus capsizes their supplies, killing several of the crewmen. Fleeing through the jungle, they soon find Kong, who tries to stop them from crossing a ravine by shaking them off a fallen tree that bridges it. Ony Jack and Denham, on opposite sides, survive. Meanwhile, a Tyrannosaurus rex approches Ann, whose screams alert Kong, who rushes back to confront the Tyrannosaurus. The fight between Kong and the Tyrannosaurus ends when Kong snaps the Tyrannosaurus' jaw. Jack continues to shadow Kong and Ann while Denham returns to the village for ammunition. Upon arriving in Kong's lair in a mountain cave, Ann is menaced by a snake-like Elasmosaurus, which Kong strangles it to death. While Kong is distracted killing a Pteranodon that tried to fly away with Ann, Jack reaches her and they climb down a vine dangling from a cliff ledge. When Kong notices and starts pulling them back up, they let go and fall unharmed into the water below. They run through the jungle and back to the village, where Denham, Englehorn, and the surviving crewmen are waiting. Kong, following, breaks open the gate and rampages through the village, killing many of the natives. On shore, Denham hurls a gas bomb, knocking Kong unconscious, whereupon he exults in the opportunity to take Kong to New York. Chained and shackled, Kong is presented to a Broadway theatre audience as "Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World". Jack and Ann are brought on stage to join him, followed by an invented group of press photographers. Believing that the ensuing flash photography is an attack, Kong breaks loose as the audience flees in terror. Ann is whisked away to a hotel room on a high floor, but Kong, scalling a building, soon finds her. Carrying her in his hands, he rampages through the city. He destroys a crowded elevated train, Killing several citizens and climbs up the Empire State Building. At its top, he is met by four military airplanes. Kong sets Ann down and battles the planes, managing to swat one of them down, but he finnaly succumbs to their gunfire and falls to his death. Jack and Ann are reunited. Denham arrives and pushes through a crowd surrounding Kong's body in the street. When a policeman remarks that the planes got him, Denham tells him, "Oh no, it wasn't the airplanes. It was beauty killed the beast". Cast *Fay Wray as Ann Darrow *Robert Armstrong as Carl Denham *Bruce Cabot as Jack Driscoll *Frank Reicher as Captain Englehorn *Noble Johnson as the Native Chief *Steve Clemente as the Witch Doctor *James Flavin as Briggs *Sam Hardy as Charles Weston *Victor Wong as Charlie the Cook (uncredited) *Everett Brown as the Native in Ape Costume (uncredited)Category:Films Category:Adventure films Category:Dinosaur films Category:Live-action films Category:Action films Category:Horror films Category:PG-rated films Category:Monster films Category:English-language films Category:American films Category:1933 films Category:1930s films